Surgical splint.



A. UJDUR.

SURGICAL SPLIN T.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 9- 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- m: mums rsrsns 00.. Pncmufnm. wAsI-uNGmN. b. I.

A. UJDUR. SURGICAL SPL-INT. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9,1916.

1,220,476. Patented Mar. 27,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- ANTON UJ'DUR, 0F PARK CITY, UTAH.

SURGICAL SPLINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, ieiv.

Application filed November 9, 1916. Serial No. 130,427.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AnroN UJDUR, a citizen of Austria-Hungary, residing at Park City, in the county of Summit and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Splints; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in surgical splints for fractures of the fingers, toes or hands.

The object of the invention is to provide a splint of this character in the form of a clamp whereby a bruised, sprained or broken hand or digit may be firmly incased and held in a simple yet thoroughly efficient manner.

Another object is to provide a splint so constructed that when adjusted to the injured member, will prevent bending of said member .and yet permit air to freely circulate around opposite sides of the member and which will fit different sized and shaped digits thereby avoiding the necessity of providing splints of different sizes.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a bottom plan view of a splint constructed for use in connection with an injured hand;

Fig. 2 represents a top plan view thereof showing it applied to a single finger;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the hand plate with the finger splints removed;

Fig. 4: is a longitudinal section taken on the line l4= of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4:;

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of an individual finger splint showing a slightly modified form;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the hand plate taken on the showing the fingers made integral therewith;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, 4L, 8, and 9 the invention is shown embodied in a clamp or splint for use on an injured hand while in Figs. 2 and 7 it is shownapplied to a finger splint or cot.

In the form first above mentioned a plate 1 is shown shaped to conform to the configuration of the human hand and composed of wood, bone or similar material, which being very light and non-corrodible will not cause discomfort to the wearer. This plate 1 is provided with a central ventilating aperture 2 which may be of any desired configuration being here shown heartshaped. I Extending from the front end of said plate are a plurality of fingers 3, five being here shown conforming in shape and arrangement to the fingers of the human hand. These fingers are preferably made integral with the plate 1 as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, although they may be detachably secured thereto as shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 4 the only requisite being that these fingers be rigidly secured to the plate 1 to prevent bending of the fingers or closing of the hand. By making these fingers detachable it is obvious that when a single finger only of the patients hand is broken or injured that one of these fingers may be removed and used individually.

An extension 4 is formed at the rear end of the plate 1 of a width slightly greater than the width of a human wrist and which is designed to support and connect the device to the wrist of the user. This extension may be of any desired or suitable length so that if found necessary or desirable it may be used to support an injured wrist which may occur in connection with a broken hand.

Each of the fingers 3 is composed of two coiin-erating members 5 and 6 one of which is rigid and the other movable, the member 5 being shown rigidly secured to the hand plate 1 and the member 6 hingedly connected at one end to the outer end of said member 5. This hinge may be of any suitable or desired construction, but is here shown in the form of a knuckle 7 which extends transversely from the inner face of one end of the member 6 and is bifurcated to receive a cooperating knuckle 8 carried by the inner face of the free outer end of the member 5. These knuckles 7 and 8 may be of any desired length being substantially of a length corresponding to the thickness of the ordinary human finger. The member 6 which is designed to engage the outer or upper face of the finger is of less length than the member 5 which is designed to engage the.lower or inner face of a finger so that when applied the finger is firmly clamped between these two members with the sides of the finger exposed as is shown clearly in Fig. 4.

These two members 5 and 6 are of a'width slightly greater than the width of an ordinary human finger and are detachably and adjustably connected by seeming means now to be described.

The securing means for the members 5 and 6 constitute a plurality of plates 9 and 9 any desired number of which may be em ployed, four being here shown, two plates 9 being carried by the member 5 and two 9 by the member 6, those on one member being arranged opposite those on the other. These plates 9 as shown are rectangular in construction being of a length slightly greater than the width of the members 5 and 6. These plates 9 and 9 have a dovetailed connection with the members 5 and 6, grooves 11 being formed transversely in the outer faces of said members 5 and 6 and provided along their opposite edges with overhanging lips 12 which form guides for the plates 9 and 9' and operate to hold them against lateral movement.

Carried by the projecting ends of the plates 9 of member 6 are a plurality of laterally and inwardly extending pins 1 1 composed of silver or other suitable metal which will not injure the flesh of the wearer or cause discomfort. These pins 14 may be of any suitable or desired length being preferably longer than the thickness of the ordinary human finger. These pins may be secured in any suitable manner to the plates 9 being fixedly connected therewith and are provided at their free ends with threads to receive clamping nuts 15 fora purpose presently to be described. The ends of the plates 9 which project beyond the opposite side edges'of the finger clamping member 5 are apertured to receive the threaded ends of the pins 1 1 by means of which clamping members are connected. The side edges of the members 5 and 6 are shown provided with grooves 5 and 6 through which the pins pass and which form guides and reinforces for the pins.

In the application of these, finger clamp ing splints or cots when used individually the nuts 15 are loosened so that the knuckles 5 and 6 may be separated suiiiciently to permit the insertion between them of the finger to which the device is to be secured and the length than the member 6 when the splints are used individually for separate fingers the free end of the member 5 will extend inward some distance beyond the inner oint of the finger and thus prevent bending thereof.

An attaching plate 16 is shown extending transversely across the wrist extension 4: of

plate 1, being dove-tailed therein in the same manner that the plates 9 and 10 are connected with the finger members 5 and 6 and which carries pins .17 at its opposite ends which are designed to pass through apertures in a. cooperating plate 18 which is designed to rest on the top or outer face of the wrist, it being understood that the extension 1 engages the lower or inner face of the wrist.

From the above description it will be obvious that this device may be employed as a whole on the hand of a patient or if one or two fingers only require splints the fingers 3 may be detached and used individually. The fingers may also be made individually and sold as separate articles of manufacture.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the finger members 6 are shown made integral with the hand plate 1 but otherwise the construction is the same.

In Fig. 7 a single finger splint or cot is shown the inner faces of the members 5 and 6 being hollowed out as shown at 6 to adapt it to fit the hand adjacent the base of the little finger.

I claim as my invention:

1 1. A surgical splint comprising two members having cooperating knuckles on their inner faces at one end whereby they are hingedly connected to swing toward. and away from each other and held in. spaced superposed relation, a groove extending transversely of each of said members, an attaching plate mounted in each of said grooves with the ends of said plates projecting beyond the side edges of said members, the plate of one member being arranged opposite that of the other member, and means carried by said projecting plate ends .for adjustably connecting said members.

2. A surgical splint for digits comprising two members of a width slightly greater than the width of the digit to which it is to be applied, one of said members being longer than the other, said members having cooperating knuckles on their inner faces at one end whereby they are hingedly connected at one end to swing toward and away from each other, longitudinally spaced undercut grooves extending transversely of said members, attaching plates mounted in said grooves with their ends projecting beyond the side edges of said members, the attaching plates of one member being arranged opposite those of the other, fixed pins carried by the projecting ends of the plates of one member, said pins extending laterally toward the other member and threaded at their free ends, the plates of the other member being apertured at their ends to receive said pins, and nuts engaging said ANTON UJDUR.

Witnesses:

ALBERT SEEMANN, JOHN E. JOHNSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

presence of two subscribing 2o 

